Loyalty Elite is a high school AAU basketball team, sponsored by BJ Media. This club team choses #loyaltyovereverything on and off the court.
“I would describe playing for Loyalty Elite as a great learning experience and a fun way to learn how to communicate with others and overall grow as a player and a person.” said Loyalty Elite junior guard Al Clark, who attends AZ Compass.
Loyalty Elite is none other than a team that plays hard and wants to win games.
“As a team, we had multiple ups and downs coming from disagreements causing us not to work together and lose games,” Clark said.
“But we worked through it and ended off the summer on a great winning streak.”
Clark played with Loyalty Elite from the very first tournament all the way through summer league and has seen the true ups and downs of the team.
The team overcame adversity and finished its summer season on a six-game winning streak and took medals home as Legacy Sports Summer League Champions.
“It was fun and enjoyable. We stuck together and won games with a winning mentality,” senior forward Danny Robles, who attends Barry Goldwater High School, said.
Robles joined the team late in the spring/summer season and “was one of the cornerstones in turning the season around,” head coach Brandon Jones said.
Robles would describe the team by being a team that “plays hard and wants to win games.”
“It’s a family. We bring in kids from all over the Valley from various backgrounds and they all just love to hoop and get along really well,” Jones said.
As the fall season approaches, tryouts to earn a spot on the team are on Tuesday, August 16th from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Inspire Courts.
There will also be free photos and videos provided by BJ Media. This tryout is open to all high school ages (Class of 2023 - 2026). Fill out this form to register.
Coach Jones filmed a lot of small-school basketball last season and noticed a lot of “talented players” did not have an AAU/club team.
He decided to start Loyalty Elite as a “great way to give these kids opportunities to showcase their skills and get better during the offseason for their schools.”
The thing that Coach Jones enjoys most about coaching this team is getting to be a mentor to his players.
“Most of my players text me regularly outside of practices and games about several things beyond basketball,” he said.
“Working primarily with black and hispanic players, I think it’s important that they see someone that looks like them be successful.” Jones aspires to be an example of where these players want to see themselves in their professional careers in the future.
For the tryouts, he’s looking for kids who want to make Loyalty Elite a number one priority.
“I’m not looking for the kids bouncing around four-to-five teams each spring and summer,” Jones said.
“I want the kid that’s going to consistently show up and come ready to play. We had some players early during this past season that lacked work ethic and I quickly reconstructed our roster to bring in guys that were ready to put in work.”
It is a no-brainer that the team wants to win X, Y and Z championships, play on one of the circuits and bring in star recruits, however Coach Jones cares more about the culture of his team.
“I’d much rather develop guys into star players that can go to the next level than get storm rushed with star guys that lack chemistry and bounce around teams each weekend,” he said.
The team is hoping to have a lot of continuity and keep the momentum rolling from summer league into the fall season.
“I got some big-time players that are interested in joining the solid core we already have and I think the only way is up from here,” Jones said.
“The future is bright for this team. Any hoopers looking to get better this fall, before the school season and just enjoy playing the game at a high level should come tap in with us!”